Cheater
by Scoobies112
Summary: AU Fic: Buffy remembers her and Spike's beginnings as a couple amidst her current suspicions of him cheating. NOTE: All 'Present' sections are meant to take place in 2003.
1. And so it begins

TITLE: Cheater  
  
AUTHOR: Me, who else? *Wink*  
  
DISCLAIMER: I own none of the characters. Everything that happens in the story in real-time(not flash backs) is my made up plot, however the flashbacks are all based off of my own personal life. Yep, this is a 75% true story Kiddies. Brace yourselves ;)  
  
CONTENT: S/B with some minor S/Dru, S/other and some minor B/Ang   
  
TIMELINE: This is AU, therfore, there is no timeline. There are years listed though on the flashbacks. Just a warning.  
  
FEEBACK: If I could live off it I would. So come on, feed me. *wink*  
  
DEDICATION: This is dedicated to CJG. You know who you are ;)  
  
SUMMARY: Buffy and Spike have known eachother since Junior High, while on her way to his house she think back over the years about their rocky start and even rockier relationship.  
  
WARNING: This is not Fluffy. This is like real life and as we all know life isn't always happy. I warned you. So no flames that you want me to write something fluffier because I don't do that.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Buffy paced up and down her bedroom floor, her beautiful blue-green eyes filled with tears, nervously wringing her hands and nibbling her lips.   
  
'I can't do this, I can't take this. GOD! This is too much!'  
  
Her hands shot up to her head in anguish and she collapsed to the floor. Her boyfriend, Spike, had recently been hanging out with a girl that had a giant crush on him. Every night for the past week Cecily had been at his house, in his room. She had kissed him on the cheek twice. He said they were 'thank you' kisses because he was teaching her how to play the guitar. Her crush didn't bother him in the slightest. She was just a friend. Cecily was just a buddy. Just someone to teach how to play the guitar, her little crush couldn't be taken seriously.   
  
Even though Cecily had started showing up at his house every night with Heroine and every other drug he had previously been addicted to. Buffy had tried, really tried, to get him off that stuff. He had already ODed and she didn't want him to again. Apparantly SHE didn't have those petty concerns for his life.  
  
Buffy rocked back and forth on the floor, her head in her hands. Spike was trying, he really was, she knew it. But lately....she didn't know what it was. But when she spoke to him, there was something there, a certain hesitation in his words. As though he was hiding something and one wrong choice of wording would reveal it. She relaxed against her dresser and closed her eyes.  
  
'Breathe in, Breathe out, Breathe in, Breathe out...'  
  
A tapping at her screen window broke her out of the relaxed state she was trying to perfect. She got up and smoothed out her jeans. They were black, like most of her clothing. She used to be completely preppy, but meeting Spike had changed that somewhat. He subtly reflected his tastes onto hers. And soon she was listening to obscure bands she'd never even heard of. She liked the music, it was just somewhat of a culture shock. She adapted though. And here she stood, in black knee-high Doc Martens with black cargo dickies and a purple tank with a black mesh jacket thrown over it.  
  
She smiled at her friend Cordelia who was currently standing knee deep in the assorted flowers Buffy's mother Joyce had planted a month ago. Cordelia was like most of Buffy's friends. Bad home life, really good at school, knew all the connections for parties and drugs even if she was(for the moment) clean. Cordelia wore a white off the shoulder blouse, and a black mini. Her 'bling bling' neclace as she put it, gave the whole outfit a bit of a hip-hop flavor. Which was why she wore it. Leave it to Cordelia to never be typical.  
  
"Need some help there Cor?" Buffy said, smiling wryly as her friend lifted the almost invisible section of screen Buffy had cut out a year ago.  
  
"Almost got it..." Cordelia bit her lip as she furrowed her brow in concentration before finally lifting the screen with a triumphant grin."There we go! All it needed was a push. Now, after all that trouble I went through you can't possibly deny me ANYTHING now."  
  
Buffy groaned in mock agony. She knew Cordelia wanted her to go to some new club or rave and she also knew it would be fun. Which was partly the reason she didn't want to go. She felt on edge 24/7 with the whole Spike ordeal and almost constantly felt the need to cry. Cordelia didn't know this of course. Cordy hated Spike anyways and if she knew this particular hell he was putting Buffy through, she would have his balls served to him on a silver platter.  
  
"I don't know Cor...Remember the last time we partied?" Buffy said, eyebrows raised.  
  
The last party Buffy had gone to with Cordelia had been, well suffise to say 'interesting'. There was of course beer and Buffy had never done shots before. She decided to try it. BIG mistake. She got so drunk she ended up doing the cha cha in her underwear on her neighbors lawn at three in the morning while Cordelia puked her guts out in the poor guys mailbox.  
  
Cordelia smiled as though she had heard something funny. "Yea," she said, and then grimaced. "you did get pretty plastered. You thought I was Big Bird from sesame street, and kept asking me why my tail was so bushy."  
  
Buffy laughed at the thought of Cordelia with a tail. "It's just, I don't know, I don't feel in the partying mood tonight, you know?"  
  
Cordy nodded in understanding, "Yea, I know. But you gotta go out and do SOMETHING. You can't just hang in your room all day, it's not good for the skin." She winked before continuing, "Besides, we'll stop by that boyfriend of your's house on the way there. See what the asshole is up to. Still wanna stay inside?" She smiled, she knew the answer before it came.  
  
"Hold on, Let me get my coat."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Buffy sat in the red Jeep Wrangler next to her friend as they drove to Spike's house. Cordelia turned the radio on and switched it around before landing on a station she liked. Buffy smiled at the song. She remembered this song from the seventh grade. She used to be obsessed with the band.   
  
'How things change...'  
  
She had met Spike in the seventh grade, well technically the late sixth but whose counting. He was completely gothed out and she was all innocence and preppiness. While not shy by any means, she was infact the class clown, she was incredibly shy around boys. Especially ones she liked. She liked Spike from the first time she talked to him. He was, quite literally, the yin to her yang. They were a pair, though not alike in any way, so completely opposite they got along perfectly.   
  
As Buffy watched the trees and houses go by, she couldn't help but recall the first time they actually 'met'...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
JULY 6, 1997  
  
Buffy looked at herself in the mirror critically. Her see-through over shirt and white tank complimented her khaki colored shorts nicely. She smiled at the shirt, it was one of her favorites. Her cousin had one just like it, and her cousin was her hero.   
  
Today was a big day. First day of seventh grade. No longer a sixth grader, not quite the top-dog eighth graders. She was gonna be like a middle child.  
  
'Marsha, Marsha, Marsha...'  
  
Buffy giggled at her own stupid joke. While she wasn't happy that her school was year-around and that meant she had to go to school in the summer, at least it meant she'd get to see her friends again. And make new ones.  
  
"Buffy! The bus will be here in a few minutes, hurry up!" Joyce yelled up the stairs at her.  
  
"Coming Mom!" Buffy yelled back as she gave her hair a final flip before exiting her room.   
  
She ran down the cranberry colored stairs, taking them two at a time and gave her mom a hug before, on impulse, hugging her grey and white cat as well. The cat of course screeched and ran towards the sofa. Buffy laughed before running towards the bus stop at the corner just as it pulled up.  
  
The bus was packed with kids. Throwing things and talking, it was like walking into a wind tunnel. A few stopped to look at her as she entered the fray, before going back to their own business.  
  
'Man, I'm not sure there are any seats...what do I do if it's full?'  
  
Buffy breifly panicked, before reason set in. This bus was full of practically all seventh graders. And she knew almost all of them. She was the class clown, she had tons of friends. She could do this. Maybe.  
  
She had reached the back of the bus. She had reached the back, and there wasn't an empty seat. Before she could decide a small voice next to her spoke out.  
  
"You wanna sit next to me? I'm not sharing with anyone at the moment..." The girl stared up at Buffy with eyes like saucers and before Buffy fully knew what she was doing, she had already sat down and was thanking her.  
  
"Thanks for the seat, I'm Buffy." She offered her hand to the girl.  
  
"Your welcome, I'm Willow. It's nice meeting you. It would be cool if we have a class together, you seem like a nice girl."  
  
Buffy replied with a 'same here' and sunk into her seat. She hadn't slept much the night before. She was an insomniac but still, the night before the first day back always set her on edge.  
  
She watched as the school came into sight and the bus pulled up in a long line of other buses. She got up and grabbed her silver metallic alien shaped backpack her dad had got her. Trendy, yes. But who cared, she was a clown and it was her job to entertain the masses she thought with a grin.  
  
She got off the bus and looked around. She noticed the different tables set up, arranged by last name and she went to her area, S-Te. She told the lady her name and took her schedule. Skimming through it for her first class.   
  
Per. 1 Science: Cabot Rm. 458  
  
Per. 2 Girls PE: Lane Rm. N/A GYM  
  
Per. 3 Computer Sci: Lawrence Rm. 101  
  
Advisement: DeMaggio Rm. 106  
  
Per. 4 Social Studies: Giles Rm.104  
  
Per. 5 Language Arts: Giles Rm.104  
  
Per. 6 Pre-Algebra: Calendar Rm. 105  
  
'Hey, I got Science first, cool. I'm good at science. Sorta...'  
  
Buffy headed towards the '100 hallway' as it was affectionally dubbed. While Science was her first class, on the first day, Advisement came before all else. Advisement was a 30 minute class that really had no point. The only reason is existed was because Lunch was split between the seventh, eighth, and sixith graders. Sixth graders had 'first lunch' with half the seventh grade class, while eighth graders had 'second lunch with the rest of the seventh graders. Most students used advisement for study hall, while others, such as Buffy, used it as a time to freshen their makeup and talk to their friends.   
  
She lined up with the other students when a pair of hands covered her eyes and whispered, "Guess Who?"  
  
"Uhhhh...Jesus?" Buffy replied, jokingly while spinning out of the hands reach. The student in line laughed at her joke and she turned around to face Willow.  
  
"Hey Willow! Wow, this is so cool, we have the same advisement. Know what that means huh?" Buffy said with a grin, Willow was really nice, and had best friend potential.  
  
Willow appeared confused for a moment before she caught on. "We have the same classes!" She said loudly and hugged Buffy. Buffy, who wasn't prone to spontaneous hugging, weakly hugged her back.  
  
Mrs.DeMaggio arrived just before a few kids decided to ditch, "Alright class, single order, single order, no talking! Just let me find my keys..."  
  
Buffy smiled, she liked her new teacher already. The blonde, 40-something woman finally managed to unlock the door and let them in, instructing them to sit where they wanted. Buffy took a seat next to Willow and was about to start doodling with her new set of colored pens when HE arrived. Another student had arrived late and was talking to the teacher about not getting a detention.  
  
Her eyebrows rose and her jaw dropped before she managed to catch herself. He was so cute! No, scratch that, he was hot. He was all dark clothing and spiky platinum-blonde gelled hair. He was wearing a 'Korn' tee shirt and she wondered where her korn CD was before his eyes met hers.  
  
'Oh..My..God...'  
  
While talking to Mrs. DeMaggio he had been doing a sweep of the room and his crystal-blue eyes had latched onto hers. She could feel herself being sucked into them, she was hot and cold all over and she bit her lip to keep from saying something, anything to get him closer.  
  
He smiled as though he knew what she had been thinking and started walking in her direction. His eyes still on hers, he winked and sat down directly behind her. She froze as she felt a hand lightly tug her hair, she turned around to meet his face inches from hers.  
  
"Hey Goldilocks, my name is Spike." He half-smiled at Buffy and she felt herself melting.  
  
'English Accent, ENGLISH ACCENT!!!!'  
  
"My name is Buffy, It's nice to meet you." She gathered herself and smiled back before turning around. That's when she felt it, that feeling of elastic being stretched too far. She had a split second to think before he released her bra strap.  
  
'Oh Shi-'  
  
*Snap*  
  
TBC...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


	2. Puppy Love

TITLE: Cheater  
  
AUTHOR: Me, who else? *Wink*  
  
DISCLAIMER: I own none of the characters. Everything that happens in the story in real-time(not flash backs) is my made up plot, however the flashbacks are all based off of my own personal life. Yep, this is a 75% true story Kiddies. Brace yourselves ;)  
  
CONTENT: S/B with some minor S/Dru, S/other and some minor B/Ang   
  
TIMELINE: This is AU, therfore, there is no timeline. There are years listed though on the flashbacks. Just a warning.  
  
FEEBACK: If I could live off it I would. So come on, feed me. *wink*  
  
DEDICATION: This is dedicated to CJG. You know who you are ;)  
  
SUMMARY: Buffy and Spike have known eachother since Junior High, while on her way to his house she think back over the years about their rocky start and even rockier relationship.  
  
WARNING: This is not Fluffy. This is like real life and as we all know life isn't always happy. I warned you. So no flames that you want me to write something fluffier because I don't do that.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
PRESENT  
  
Buffy softly laughed at the memory. From then on, it had been a Love-Hate relationship between the two. Him snapping her bra straps and alternating between the nick-names 'nice-ass', 'goldilocks' and 'bitch', and her kicking him randomly and pulling various other pranks that came to mind. Though they constantly tried to best one-another, there was a mutal respect that couldn't be defeated. Willow suprisingly developed a crush on Spike and even though Buffy liked him too, she figured he didn't like her that way. She tried to set them up, Willow was still her friend, and if Buffy couldn't be happy, then Willow might as well be.  
  
Everyone else could see that they were head over heels for each-other. Even if they themselves hadn't fully realized it yet. Spike's friends would always smile knowingly when Buffy was brought up and the same went with Buffy's friends, except for Michelle, who was currently swimming the strong current of 'Da Nile'.  
  
Like all young loves, there were obstacles. Such as Spike's girlfriend Druscilla. Well, girlfriend would be stretching it a bit since they would date for a week then be broken up for about a month. But since his girlfriend was one of Buffy and Willow's friends, it made the whole situation a lot more confusing. After him and Druscilla would break up though, he would, as revenge, date one of her friends. Even though Druscilla had alot of friends, they broke up so much that he ran out of people to ask out except Buffy and Willow. Willow liked him so much and made it so blatantly obvious that she did that it took all of the fun out of it. And Buffy was...he just didn't feel comfortable doing that to her. But, he asked her out anyway, and she rejected him.  
  
'I never was one for cheap parlor tricks...'  
  
Buffy smiled to herself. They had become good friends. That was why when he asked her out for the second time in the eighth grade, and he really meant it, she had been hesitant. She didn't want to ruin the friendship. But she said yes. She might have been cautious, but she wasn't stupid...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
JANUARY 11, 1998  
  
Buffy couldn't believe it. First her friend Dawn had said that Spike liked her, and now here's his friend Xander telling her that Spike wants to talk to her.  
  
"Alright..." She said as she followed him outside the blue-glass double doors to the covered outside hallway, where Spike stood, nervously wringing his hands. His eyes met hers and instantly, like a shield had gone up, he was calm and collected. She smiled to herself and greeted him.  
  
"Hey Spike, What's Up?" She questioned him, smiling at him, even though she herself was nervous.  
  
"Well, I uh...." He began, "Well I was just wondering, if you would ummm..like to go out with..umm..me." He raised his eyes to hers with a hopeful glance and she was breifly reminded of the 'begging puppy' look.  
  
She smiled at him "Yes."  
  
He was looking down at the floor when she said it and she could tell he was wondering if he had heard correctly.  
  
"Yea, I'll go out with you." Buffy smiled at him again.  
  
He let out a breath of air and laughed, obviously relieved. He looked at her and smiled widely, as though he had just won the lottery.  
  
"I guess this means we should hug now..." Buffy suggested with a little smile and he nodded in a mock business like gesture. Buffy laughed and awkardly hugged him. She'd never really hugged him before. It was nice.  
  
'He smells good...a little spicy...I could get used to this...'  
  
Buffy smiled and laughed before, quite literally run-skipping back to her english class. Once she arrived at her table she smiled extra wide at all her friends.  
  
Anya stopped mid-doodle and looked at Buffy suspiciously. "Ok, How many orgasms did you get and who gave them to you?" She asked Buffy.  
  
"Spikejustaskedmeout." Buffy said in one breath, she couldn't stop smiling.  
  
"Come again?" Anya asked.  
  
"Spike just asked me out. Just now, outside, and I said yes!" Buffy said happily. Her friends swarmed her, saying how great that was and how happy for her they were.  
  
By the time the day was over, Buffy had heard the word 'congratulations' so many times she figured if she never heard it again she would probably be happy. As she got on the bus home she smiled to herself. After nearly two years of wondering if he was ever gonna come around, he finally had.  
  
'I guess congratualtions are in order....'  
  
TBC...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


	3. Break out the Tissues

TITLE: Cheater  
  
AUTHOR: Me, who else? *Wink*  
  
DISCLAIMER: I own none of the characters. Everything that happens in the story in real-time(not flash backs) is my made up plot, however the flashbacks are all based off of my own personal life. Yep, this is a 75% true story Kiddies. Brace yourselves ;)  
  
CONTENT: S/B with some minor S/Dru, S/other and some minor B/Ang   
  
TIMELINE: This is AU, therfore, there is no timeline. There are years listed though on the flashbacks. Just a warning.  
  
FEEBACK: If I could live off it I would. So come on, feed me. *wink*  
  
DEDICATION: This is dedicated to CJG. You know who you are ;)  
  
SUMMARY: Buffy and Spike have known eachother since Junior High, while on her way to his house she think back over the years about their rocky start and even rockier relationship.  
  
WARNING: This is not Fluffy. This is like real life and as we all know life isn't always happy. I warned you. So no flames that you want me to write something fluffier because I don't do that.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
PRESENT  
  
It hadn't all been peaches and cream though. About a week later Buffy broken up with Spike. She was scared, really scared. What if this turned out to be some sort of rebound thing from Druscilla? Albeit it would be a little late since the last time those two had been an item was the previous summer. Then there's the scarier thought...what if it wasn't? What if the relationship developed into something special, something more? Could she handle that sort of intamc with someone?  
  
All these questions plagued her mind until she couldn't take it and wrote a short letter to him explaining that she didn't think she was 'the one' for him. She could still remember the look on his face when she gave him it...it hurt her. It physically hurt her. It was like being stabbed in the stomache and ripped to shreds until your guts spilled out. She had broken his heart.  
  
One of the things she had vowed to never do was hurt the people she cared about. Especially like that. Buffy sighed and looked out the window of the speeding Jeep. She could still remember his face...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
JANUARY 17, 1998  
  
'Ok..there....'  
  
Buffy signed the letter with a flourish. It was perfect. Completely perfect. She felt really bad about doing this but she had to break it off before they both got in too deep and started caring too much. She folded and signed the outside of the note/letter, making it simple, yet still a little girlish.   
  
'Now comes the hard part...the waiting.'  
  
Buffy sighed and tapped her nails against the desk. Dawn would not be happy. Buffy and Spike were like her little pet-project. Ever since they had gotten together she had been going on and on about 'true-love' and the such. A few complaints from her, Buffy could handle. Losing Spike as a friend however was something she couldn't take. Buffy adjusted her top and grabbed her leather jacket off her seat as the bell rang.   
  
'Maybe I should've chosen a different day to break up with him on. I'm sure any day besides 'Celebrity Dress-Up' Day would've been better. I know I'm dressed to quite literally kill at the moment.'  
  
Buffy was dressed as her favorite Television character, "Sarah, from 'Sarah The Demon Hunter' ". The costume included wearing a pair of tight lycra black pants, chunky high-heeled shoes, a black leather jacket, and a purple and blue striped tank-top. The pants hugged her hips and legs like a second skin and although the weather didn't require the Jacket, it made her look even more kick-ass then she would have otherwise.  
  
As she walked out of her class to her usual table at Lunch she began having second doubts. These doubts multiplied when she saw him. Spike smiled at her when he saw her. She smiled weakly back.   
  
'Maybe I should have Lunch first...'  
  
She walked with her friends to their table across the Quad. She could feel his eyes following her and her appetite left her. Her friends got up except for a couple that had already been sitting at the table with their lunches and got in line at the snack carts to buy lunch.  
  
"I'm not hungry, you guys go ahead." Buffy said when a couple of her friends stayed behind because she wasn't moving. She sat there, feeling the hot sun on her back and closed her eyes for a moment with her palms resting on her temples.  
  
'God, What am I doing...I can't do this to him. It could make things worse for all I know...'  
  
Buffy reached into her jacket pocket and grabbed the letter. She sat there looking at it until her friends came back.  
  
"What's that?" Anya asked curiously, pointing at the note Buffy held.  
  
Buffy couldn't take it anymore, she had to tell them. They would find out anyway if she went through with it. "I'm thinking of breaking up with Spike."  
  
Dawn spit out her soda, much to the disgust of Willow and anyone else sitting next to her. "What?!?" She shrieked in full banshee-mode, "You can't break up with Spike!"  
  
"Why not?" Buffy questioned her, meeting Dawn's eyes in a defiant stare. This was HER business. HER relationship. If she wanted to call it off, she could and she would.  
  
"Because....You just...you can't....it's not...." Dawn sputtered before slumping in defeat as Willow patted her back soothingly. "It's just not right, Buffy. He really loves you. And you love him too! I know you do!"  
  
Buffy sighed and tucked the letter back into her pocket. "I don't know Dawn, I mean, I used to. But then I thought he didn't like me and I resigned myself to that fact and for a year I've been moving on! How can you still love someone after that?"  
  
Dawn shook her head at her and sighed, "I don't know, but can't you at least try?"  
  
"I have tried! And I failed and I don't want him to get any deeper in this than he already is. I don't want to lose my friend. We were such great friends before this, and I don't want to lose that." Buffy sighed and looked into her lap as her friend Tara gently hugged her.  
  
"Alright," Dawn resigned, "I just hope you know what your doing. This might make the whole 'friend' situation worse than it already is. Did you ever think he might hate you if you break his heart?"  
  
Buffy considered this for a moment. She had thought that this might make it worse, but never to the point of him hating her. She didn't think he could hate her. At least she hoped he couldn't.  
  
"It's my decision Dawn. And I don't know if it's what's best. But i'm gonna have to try it." Dawn said with finality.  
  
Dawn and the rest of the table nodded, like a tribal council that had reached it's decision.   
  
Buffy got up and grabbed her bag. "Now, who's coming with me?"  
  
At once all the people at the table grabbed their bags and proceeded to follow her. Buffy rolled her eyes. "You can't ALL come. It might look a tad suspicous if I have an entourage. Willow, and the twins will come with me to deliver the letter, the rest of you can hang back until it's over. Ok?"   
  
Everyone agreed with this statement and Willow, Tara, and Darla followed Buffy while the rest of the table kept at a far enough distance to hear what was being said but still remain anonymous. As she walked towards his table she saw him take notice of her and she could feel Willow and the twins hang back.  
  
"Hey Spike..." She greeted awkwardly, he smiled at her like a puppy been given a treat.  
  
'Not gonna make this any easier are ya?'  
  
"Can I uhhh...talk to you...alone?" She said, gesturing to his friends. His smile grew and she felt her heart grow heavy.  
  
"Yeah, sure." He smiled again and slid off the bench he had pulled up to the table he and his friends were sitting at. He was walking with her towards a tree not too far away from his table when his friend Jesse ran up to him and slapped a condom into his hand. "Hey Spike, use a rubber." He winked at Buffy before running back to the table where Spike's friends were laughing so hard various liguids were spurting out of their noses.  
  
'Oh god this is hard.......'  
  
Spike apologized for his friend and pocketed the condom. "What did you want to talk to me about?"  
  
Buffy looked down and sighed heavily, running a hand through her hair. "It's just a....I just wanted to..." She met his eyes, BIG mistake. It wasn't until everything grew blurry that she realized that her own eyes were tearing up.  
  
Spike was looking at her with all seriousness now. He knew something was bothering her and that made it all the harder for her to break up with him.  
  
"Here." She said as she thrust the letter out to him. That was when he got it. He looked at the letter, then at her, then back at the letter. He sighed and squinted almost as though he was in pain as he took the letter and stuffed it into his jeans pocket.  
  
"Spike I'm-"  
  
He held up a hand interrupting her. He then looked at her, and the look on his face made her eyes water to the brim with tears. She felt a terrible pain inside and knew she had just killed something that could have been beautiful. She bit her lower lip and opened her mouth to speak but she couldn't. She felt like she was gonna cry. She closed her eyes and lowered her head before turning around and walking away from him.  
  
Willow and the twins ran up to him asking him if he was alright and if he needed anything.   
  
'Well if he didn't know he'd been dumped, he sure as hell knows now.'  
  
Buffy could hear them fawning over him like a newborn babe and shook her head in disgust at their behavior.  
  
Dawn walked up to her and looked her in the eye. Buffy just shook her head. "How did it go?" Dawn asked  
  
"Let's put it this way," Buffy said, pausing as she felt a tear roll down her cheek, "You were right. And I think I'm going to be sick. Spike is probably worse. Go. Comfort him. Your his friend too."  
  
Dawn nodded and walked past Buffy before pausing and hugging her friend. "I'm sorry Buffy. I truly am. It's my fault, I set you two up."  
  
Buffy shrugged her friend off, "No Dawn, don't be sorry. It's not your fault. It's mine. I guess some lessons you learn too late..."  
  
Buffy walked off towards GYM, she had a few friends who hung out there during lunch who wouldn't mind holding her while she cried. As she walked she could feel all of Spike's friends staring at her with hatred in their eyes, she could hear nearly all of her friends comforting him, but all she could see was Spike's face as his heart was broken by the one person he thought he could trust.  
  
'Oh yeah, going straight to hell for this one...'  
  
TBC...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


	4. Together Again

TITLE: Cheater  
  
AUTHOR: Me, who else? *Wink*  
  
DISCLAIMER: I own none of the characters. Everything that happens in the story in real-time(not flash backs) is my made up plot, however the flashbacks are all based off of my own personal life. Yep, this is a 75% true story Kiddies. Brace yourselves ;)  
  
CONTENT: S/B with some minor S/Dru, S/other and some minor B/Ang   
  
TIMELINE: This is AU, therfore, there is no timeline. There are years listed though on the flashbacks. Just a warning.  
  
FEEBACK: If I could live off it I would. So come on, feed me. *wink*  
  
DEDICATION: This is dedicated to CJG. You know who you are ;)  
  
SUMMARY: Buffy and Spike have known eachother since Junior High, while on her way to his house she think back over the years about their rocky start and even rockier relationship.  
  
WARNING: This is not Fluffy. This is like real life and as we all know life isn't always happy. I warned you. So no flames that you want me to write something fluffier because I don't do that.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
PRESENT  
  
Buffy grimaced at the memory. That hadn't been a good day for her. She had also failed a history test she hadn't studied for and had to improvise a project for english she had neglected to do. It was all her fault, but that didn't make it suck any less.  
  
The week following the break-up with Spike was hell. He wouldn't speak to her or look at her. He avoided her in the halls and when they had to pass eachother, his friends had formed such a tight-knit circle around him, he was virtually invisible.  
  
Finally she decided she just couldn't take it anymore and had asked him back out. He semmed almost relieved when he said yes. Buffy smiled as she remembered their first week back together.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
FEBRUARY 7, 1998  
  
Buffy walked through the halls, thankful the whole mess with Spike was over. She had asked him back out a couple weeks ago and he had, thankfully said yes. She entered her math class just as she felt a hand grab her arm and pull her back into the hallway. She turned around and was faced with Spike's very happy face.  
  
"Hey!" Buffy said happily as she hugged him. He squeezed her back and murmured a hello into her golden hair.   
  
'How is it he always smells SO GOOD!'  
  
Buffy pulled back and smiled at him again.   
  
"Oh! Before I forget, here's a little something for you to read and well, think about in math." He handed her a small folded up letter. She glanced at it nervously and raised an eyebrow. He looked confused for a second before he realized why she was scared. "Don't worry luv, it's nothing like that." He smiled crookedly at her before handing her the letter and giving her a peck on the cheek.  
  
Buffy sighed in relief and waved bye to him, while walking back to class. As she got to her seat, she opened the letter carefully and began reading,  
  
'Hey Luv,  
  
I was wondering, since we've been goin steady for 'bout a couple weeks now, and it's three if you count...before. I was wonderin if you wanted to do stuff like hold hands or kiss the way frenchman do. ;) If you don't want to, that's fine. I'll understand.  
  
-Spike'  
  
Buffy smiled to herself. He was asking her if he could kiss her? How cute! And how very gentlemanly of him. Oh wait...  
  
'What if I'm a bad kisser? I haven't kissed anyone since Scott and that was a year ago. What if I'm rusty and I'm bad and I kiss him and he dumps me?!?'  
  
Buffy breathed deeply, in and out, trying to calm herself down. This was bad, this was very bad. She had to think of a solution before things escalated.  
  
'I got it! I just won't kiss him! I'll tell him, whatever, I just won't do it! There. That's a good idea. Now if he'd just stop smelling so good and looking so cute, maybe I could stick to it...'  
  
TBC...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


	5. Morning Blues

TITLE: Cheater  
  
AUTHOR: Me, who else? *Wink*  
  
DISCLAIMER: I own none of the characters. Everything that happens in the story in real-time(not flash backs) is my made up plot, however the flashbacks are all based off of my own personal life. Yep, this is a 75% true story Kiddies. Brace yourselves ;)  
  
CONTENT: S/B with some minor S/Dru, S/other and some minor B/Ang   
  
TIMELINE: This is AU, therfore, there is no timeline. There are years listed though on the flashbacks. Just a warning.  
  
FEEBACK: If I could live off it I would. So come on, feed me. *wink*  
  
DEDICATION: This is dedicated to CJG. You know who you are ;)  
  
SUMMARY: Buffy and Spike have known eachother since Junior High, while on her way to his house she think back over the years about their rocky start and even rockier relationship.  
  
WARNING: This is not Fluffy. This is like real life and as we all know life isn't always happy. I warned you. So no flames that you want me to write something fluffier because I don't do that.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
PRESENT  
  
Of course, her resolve weakened incredibly when, for Valentine's Day he got her a giant stuffed bear and some of the most beautiful love poems she had ever read, and he had written them! To her!  
  
Buffy smiled as she recalled the giant bear. The poems were beautiful too. This led her to another memory, one even better than the others: Catalina.  
  
'God, Catalina was so nice. Three days of camping out with my friends, my boyfriend, going swimming on the beach, studying the reefs and being watched by two (while good-intentioned) incompetant chaperones. Oh Yeah, I loved Catalina.'  
  
Buffy smiled at the memory. It was also the first time she had kissed Spike. Really kissed him, ie: Tonsil Hockey. And she remembered his grey soccer sweater with relish.  
  
'God that sweater was so soft. All grey and fuzzy. It was about three sizes too big for me but that just added to the confort factor. Plus it smelled like him'  
  
Buffy grinned and was once more sucked into her memories...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
MARCH 26, 1998  
  
*RIING RIING*  
  
Buffy's alarm woker her a 7:00AM. She reached over and turned it off, just before her mother entered her room.   
  
"Buffy, Get up, you have to get ready for Catalina, we leave in an hour." Joyce said sternly before walking back downstairs to finish prepairing breakfast.  
  
"I'm up, I'm up..." Buffy mumbled into her pillow.   
  
'Catalina...why am I going again? This is really early...'  
  
An image of Spike in an itsy bitsy yellow polka dotted speedo made her race out of bed laughing. She went to ther bathroom and proceeded to take a shower.  
  
'Nice soapy shower...' Buffy shook herself awake. 'I must need coffee worse than I thought.'  
  
She turned off the shower and hurredly dressed in a pair of jeans and a fitted Tee that said 'Bite Me' on the front. She ran down the stairs and greeted her mother warmly, "Hmmm, I smell and see bacon!"  
  
Joyce smiled and handed Buffy her plate before grabbing her own and eating it's contents. Buffy checked the clock: 7:34AM. She finished off her plate and deposited it and her glass in the dish-washer before going upstairs. She grabbed her suitcase and checked it's contents. She had packed the night before so that wasn't a problem. She went to the bathroom and after putting all her toiletries in her mini travel-bag she finally zipped up her suitcase.   
  
'Let's see...what to bring on the boat over...'  
  
Buffy grabbed her make-up bag and did her makeup in front of the mirror. Best to get it out of the way. Her hair still had to be done but she could do that later. She packed up her backpack with her CD player and various items she might want to bring along on the hour and a half boat-ride over to the actual Catalina Island. After that was done and she had finally done her hair she checked the clock: 7:58AM. She grabbed her backpack and rolled her suitcase down the stairs.  
  
"Hey Mom! I'm ready to go!" Buffy yelled. Joyce turned off the televison and walked towards the garage to open the door for Buffy.   
  
"Thanks." Buffy managed, her suitcase was heavy. Plus she was also carrying her sleeping bag and her backpack. No extra hands there.  
  
As she walked towards the car, she couldn't help but feel a certain nervousness. She knew she would have fun these coming three days, she was just worried about having TOO much fun...  
  
TBC...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


	6. The Love Boat

TITLE: Cheater  
  
AUTHOR: Me, who else? *Wink*  
  
DISCLAIMER: I own none of the characters. Everything that happens in the story in real-time(not flash backs) is my made up plot, however the flashbacks are all based off of my own personal life. Yep, this is a 75% true story Kiddies. Brace yourselves ;)  
  
CONTENT: S/B with some minor S/Dru, S/other and some minor B/Ang   
  
TIMELINE: This is AU, therfore, there is no timeline. There are years listed though on the flashbacks. Just a warning.  
  
FEEBACK: If I could live off it I would. So come on, feed me. *wink*  
  
DEDICATION: This is dedicated to CJG. You know who you are ;)  
  
SUMMARY: Buffy and Spike have known eachother since Junior High, while on her way to his house she think back over the years about their rocky start and even rockier relationship.  
  
WARNING: This is not Fluffy. This is like real life and as we all know life isn't always happy. I warned you. So no flames that you want me to write something fluffier because I don't do that.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
PRESENT  
  
Buffy smiled at the thought of her precious virginal eighth grade self having TOO much fun. Back then things had been so innocent for her. Well, mostly. She smiled wistfully at all she had lost over the years. As she watched the houses go by she closed her eyes and leaned against the head-rest. The rest of that day had gone smoothly, well except for getting lost on their way to the boat port.   
  
They had gone in a circle alternating between the freeway and the urban streets about five times before finally noticing the exit they should've taken half an hour ago. It was alright though. They weren't late or anything on their way there and when they checked their bags into the bag depot and stepped onto the boat, all worries were gone...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
MARCH 26, 1998  
  
Buffy stepped into the air-conditioned building that served as the Port's main Office. She looked around for moment at all the groups of students from various schools obviously intent on the same purpose as she. It took her a moment before she noticed her friend Amy waving at her wildly from across the giant waiting area. Buffy smiled and walked over to her and was immediately swarmed with hugs as her friends embraced her and almost as one said they had been worried. She noticed Spike eyeing her from a few yards away and the look on his face made it clear he wanted to be over there hugging her too.  
  
'What exactly is stopping you big bad? Can't be afraid of little old me...'  
  
Buffy smiled at him and he smiled back before they both turned back to their respective friends. A few men wearing ID badges came by shortly thereafter and told them to drop their bags off at the luggage depot as they would soon be boarding the boat.  
  
Buffy smiled and grabbed her backpack off the floor and her sleeping bag. She and her friends rolled their lugagge down to the luggage depot and put ID cards on their stuff before handing it to the loading guys who then proceeded to carry it onboard.  
  
She walked with Willow, The twins, Amy, Spike and a couple of his friends up towards the upper deck. She picked a bench style seat and sat on it while Spike sat next to her, Willow and the twins sat across from her while Spike's friends sat on chairs behind him. Buffy opened her backpack and pulled out her CD player while Spike did the same. They caught eachothers actions and laughed. Buffy leaned over and gently brushed her lips against his cheek. He smiled and put his headphones on and she picked one of her CD's and did the same.  
  
Ten minutes and two CDs later, Buffy was growing bored. She looked over at Spike and he seemed to be happily absorbed in his music. She couldn't help but wonder what he was listening to...  
  
*TAP TAP*  
  
Spike looked at Buffy and she gestured to his headphones then to hers with a raised eyebrow. He smiled and nodded before taking his headphones off and handing them to her then putting hers on, she did the same.  
  
*She shines...  
  
in a world full of ugliness...  
  
she matters...  
  
when everything is meaningless....*  
  
Buffy almost laughed. She should've guessed he'd be listening to Nine Inch Nails. They, along with Korn were his favorite band. She took note of the song. It was the one he had said reminded him of her, and she couldn't help but smile. She listened to to the song all the way through and the next one ws starting when she glanced at Spike. He was watching her and the headphones were in his lap. He smiled sheepishly at being caught.  
  
"Sorry pet," He gestured to the headphones, "I couldn't take too much sugary pop. I listened to about 30 seconds and then I felt my brain dribbling out my ear. I didn't want to disturb you though luv, you looked kinda into it. Never would've figured you a Nine Inch Nails fan." He cocked his head at her and bit his lip.  
  
Buffy laughed, just a little embarrased. She handed the headphones back to him, accepting hers in return. "Yea well, when the mood strikes I guess..."  
  
He smiled at her and turned his CD player off. Buffy had already done so and was getting up. "Hey luv, where you off to?" He asked eyeing her.  
  
Buffy shrugged and smiled, " I gotta get some air, it's kinda stuffy in here."  
  
He nodded, "Yea well, I gotta hit the loo anyway so I'll see you in a minute, ok sweet bit?"  
  
She smiled and nodded as he kissed her on the cheek and walked down the stairs below deck to the restrooms. She walked in the opposite direction towards the door that led to the outside deck. The wind had kicked up and she felt the salty spray of the ocean as she leaned against the polished wooden rail. She closed her eyes and the boat's rocking had a lulling feeling on her. Like she was floating. Suddenly she felt two strong arms slide around her waist.  
  
"Hey luv..." Spike whispered in her ear. He gently kissed her earlobe and she turned around halfway in his arms. She looked up at him and lightly kissed his lips, nibbling on the lower one. He took this as an invitation to slide his tongue against hers as she gently bit his lower lip, but she then released it and chastly kissed his now swollen lips before returning her eyes and body to the sea. His grip on her waist tightened and he rested his head against the crook of her neck, peppering her shoulder with feather-light kisses.  
  
Buffy leaned her body against his and he gripped her tighter. She closed her eyes and made a note to remember this moment. It was so perfect and everything was so right she didn't know how it ever could have been wrong.  
  
TBC...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
AUTHORS NOTE: Concerning the excerpt from the song by Nine Inch Nails, the song is called 'The Fragile' And if your a NIN fan you may have noticed that the year was 1998 and 'The Fragile' was released in 1999. The flashbacks to Catalina are all meant to take place in 2002 so please, no flames on my lil plot hole. I didn't want to change the song because as I said before the flashbacks are all based off of life and therefore I tried to keep it as close to the truth as possible. But there was the issue of Buffy needing to be in the 18 years old range in the present so I had to move some of the dates back. So once again, Sorry. And congratulations if you caught it. 


	7. How very fluffy of me

TITLE: Cheater  
  
AUTHOR: Me, who else? *Wink*  
  
DISCLAIMER: I own none of the characters. Everything that happens in the story in real-time(not flash backs) is my made up plot, however the flashbacks are all based off of my own personal life. Yep, this is a 75% true story Kiddies. Brace yourselves ;)  
  
CONTENT: S/B with some minor S/Dru, S/other and some minor B/Ang   
  
TIMELINE: This is AU, therfore, there is no timeline. There are years listed though on the flashbacks. Just a warning.  
  
FEEBACK: If I could live off it I would. So come on, feed me. *wink*  
  
DEDICATION: This is dedicated to CJG. You know who you are ;)  
  
SUMMARY: Buffy and Spike have known eachother since Junior High, while on her way to his house she think back over the years about their rocky start and even rockier relationship.  
  
WARNING: This is not Fluffy. This is like real life and as we all know life isn't always happy. I warned you. So no flames that you want me to write something fluffier because I don't do that.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
PRESENT  
  
Buffy leaned her forehead against the cool glass of the window and stared at the beautiful night sky. The moon was full and ripe and hung in the air directly over the small Jeep. The stars twinkled like diamonds and it looked exactly like the sky from Catalina. After their first night there, everyone had woken up refreshed and energized, ready to start a day of what was supposed to be alot of fun: Canoing.  
  
'Well it was fun, I just felt like my arms were going to fall off afterwards. Of course, that morning had to be my favorite part of the whole day...'  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
MARCH 27, 1998  
  
Buffy wearily opened her eyes and sat up in the tent she shared with Willow. She could tell the sun was up because the front flap to her tent was partially open. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes. She noticed Willow was already up and was grabbing her toiletrie bag.  
  
"Come on Buffy, Let's go take our shower before everyone else steals the hot water." She said, already walking out of the tent.  
  
Buffy grabbed her bag and wiped the sleepys from her eyes one last time before following Willow out. She leaned a little on Willow as she put her shoes on, but then she was steady enough to begin the fifty-yard trek to the bathrooms.  
  
The bathrooms and the showers were in two seperate rooms, though both part of the same hut-like building. The bathroom looked like a normal school bathroom, albeit a little ramshackle. And the showers however were school showers as well.  
  
'Not much for privacy are they?'  
  
The girl's restroom was on the side nearest the camping grounds and the boy's was on the opposite side. The chaperones had seperate showers from everyone else and their restroom was little more than a suite compared to the camper's.  
  
'I don't understand why they get an actual shower stall and we don't. All they do is give orders and complain...'  
  
As they neared the bathrooms, Buffy and Willow passed several other 'camps' of students who had woken up but were still drowsy enough to remain in bed. Of course this didn't stop them from yelling catcalls at Buffy and Willow as they passed, it only encouraged them. She noticed one guy was yelling at his friends and saying they were being crude. He was kinda tall, had sandy blonde hair and bright blue eyes.  
  
'Cute...but I'm taken.'  
  
She smiled her thanks at him as they passed and he gave a little nod, almost a salute. Buffy had to stop herself from bursting out with laughter.  
  
'Calm down Soldier-Boy'  
  
After Buffy and Willow had reached the bathrooms and brushed their teeth and washed their faces, it wasn't until both their faces were sopping wet that they realized they had neglected to bring a towel. Buffy volunteered to go back to Camp and get the offending items while Willow finished up there. When she reached Camp Buffy noticed Spike was sitting up in his cot with his head on his arms, looking out at everyone walking by, including her. She smiled and grabbed the towels before heading back to the restrooms. Halfway there something occured to her.  
  
'Damnit! Why didn't I do something? I could've done something besides smile and walk away! The other girls and guys are all mostly asleep and SO ARE THE CHAPERONES!'  
  
She shook her head at herself and continued on her way until she had made it to Willow. After the two had taken their respective showers and toweled off, they now had to make the long trek back to Camp in their towels and a smile.  
  
'This should be easy...It's just like walking...semi-NAKED!'  
  
After awhile the catcalls and various remarks were pointless to listen to so she just ignored them. When they reached camp and had finally managed to change back into their clothes Buffy breathed a sigh of relief. That was until she noticed Spike eyeing her from his tent. She smiled to herself and walked over to the small army green tent and peeked in. He was sitting on his bed and he had a notebook in his hands, he was writing something in rapid-fire scribble and she gently cleared her throat. He jumped a little as he noticed her and smiled when he saw who it was. Then he thrust the notebook in his duffel bag like it was contaminated and weakly smiled at her.  
  
"Hey," She said sitting down next to him and leaning her head on his shoulder, "What are you doing?"  
  
He smiled a little and wrapped an arm around her waist, "Writing is all. Nothing important."  
  
She smiled back and gave him a light eskimo kiss, "Oh really? Well then you won't mind if I read it?"  
  
He sheepishly smiled and shook his head, "Naw, you wouldn't want to read it, it's like my journal luv, all naked ladies and hot lesbians, fast cars and heavy metal..."  
  
She laughed and smacked his shoulder as he rambled on. "Would one of those naked ladies happen to be me?" She asked in mock-innocence.  
  
He smiled and leaned forward, kissing her soundly on the lips, his tongue just barely touching her teeth, "What do you think luv?"  
  
'I think someone's horny....*mental giggle*'  
  
She smiled and kissed him harder on the lips than she had before, she had something planned...  
  
'Here goes nothing....'  
  
She brushed her tongue against his lips as he gently massaged her arm with his left palm. He was so suprised by this that his eyes opened in shock especially when she teased his mouth open with her tongue. From then on it was a war of dominance, her tongue versus his and who could go without air the longest. There was also the subtle battle over who could drive eachother craziest. He was randomly massaging her arms, her hips, her stomache, other places...she decided she was gonna win this.  
  
She flipped them so that she was ontop and he was beneath her and she ground her pelvis against his. He gave a whimper and detached his mouth from hers, "Bloody hell woman, you trying to kill me?"  
  
Buffy laughed and gently kissed his eyelids then his nose then both of his cheeks before finally kissing his lips. Then she dismounted from him and lay next to him on the cot. He wrapped an arm around her and gently kissed her forehead.  
  
"I love you, you know that right?" He whispered into her ear. His crystalline blue eyes searched hers and she smiled as she nodded.  
  
"I do now." She smiled, " I love you too." She leaned her head on his chest as his arms circled her like a protective blanket. She could hear Spike's breathing level out and knew he had fallen asleep. She smiled at his sleeping form. He looked so innocent...she gently traced the scar on his eyebrow. He whimpered in his sleep and she leaned back against him before finally drifting off into sleep herself.  
  
TBC...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


	8. Paddles and Kelp

TITLE: Cheater  
  
AUTHOR: Me, who else? *Wink*  
  
DISCLAIMER: I own none of the characters. Everything that happens in the story in real-time(not flash backs) is my made up plot, however the flashbacks are all based off of my own personal life. Yep, this is a 75% true story Kiddies. Brace yourselves ;)  
  
CONTENT: S/B with some minor S/Dru, S/other and some minor B/Ang   
  
TIMELINE: This is AU, therfore, there is no timeline. There are years listed though on the flashbacks. Just a warning.  
  
FEEBACK: If I could live off it I would. So come on, feed me. *wink*  
  
DEDICATION: This is dedicated to CJG. You know who you are ;)  
  
SUMMARY: Buffy and Spike have known eachother since Junior High, while on her way to his house she think back over the years about their rocky start and even rockier relationship.  
  
WARNING: This is not Fluffy. This is like real life and as we all know life isn't always happy. I warned you. So no flames that you want me to write something fluffier because I don't do that.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
PRESENT  
  
Buffy smiled at the memory. Things had been so perfect. Suddenly she felt the car stop.  
  
'Are we here already???'  
  
She sat up and looked at Cordelia is confusion who was already putting the car into park. "Cordy, what are you doing?"  
  
"Getting some gas. I'm running a little low and if you expect to make it to loverboy's house anytime before the next apocalypse I suggest we fill up." Cordelia unbuckled her seat belt and hopped out of the jeep, heading towards the pump. Buffy nodded as though aggreeing with her and offered to chip in but was firmly denied.   
  
While Cordelia pumped the gas, Buffy remembered how the canoeing session went with a grin. Spike had been so adorable, his face was a mask of concentration as he furiously paddled to beat her in the race. He couldn't seem to understand why his canoe was going in a circle, that was until the councillor told him he had to use both paddles at the same time...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
MARCH 27, 1998  
  
"WATCH OUT!" Buffy heard a voice yell just before a volleyball wizzed past her head by a fraction of an inch. She froze and stood there for a moment before shaking it off with a nervous laugh.  
  
"You alright?!?" Spike asked her worriedly as he ran up to her while on his search for the ball. She nodded and smiled. Before pointing where the ball had gone. He smiled his thanks and kissed her forehead before running in the ball's direction. She smiled as she watched him run off and caught Amy looking at her with a jealous glint in her eyes.   
  
'What's THAT about?'  
  
Before Buffy had any time to think further about it, Amy's hostile look was replaced with one of worry as she asked her if she was alright. Buffy replied she was, but she was a little hesitant with her answer. Something was up with Amy and she couldn't figure out what...  
  
The councillor's approached them and told them it was time to change into their bathing suits and board shorts. It was Canoeing time. Buffy smiled and walked towards her tent with Willow and hurriedly changed into her bathing suit and board shorts. She slipped into her flip flops and grabbed her towel and was glad she had shaved her legs before leaving her house. Privacy was a MAJOR issue here.  
  
As she and Willow walked outside the tent she noticed Spike stepping outside his tent. He was wearing black swim trunks and flip flops like all the other guys but his white shirt was considerably tighter. Buffy's eyes roamed over his chest before finally meeting his eyes.  
  
'His eyes! Damn, I've been caught. But still, Yummy....'  
  
She smiled sheepishly at being caught and he grinned wolfishly at her before walking up to her and wrapping his arms around her exposed waist.  
  
"Like what you see luv?" He whispered into her ear before nibbling on the lobe. She just melted in his arms and weakly nodded. He kissed her then and it was different then their other kisses. It was passionate and hard and everything that had been built up over the previous two years. When they detached Buffy's eyes were clouded and Spike was panting.  
  
"How..about..you?" Buffy panted out at Spike who was still trying to catch his breath. He appeared confused for a moment before she went on, "Do you like what you see?"  
  
He smiled at her then, "More than you'll every know luv, more than you'll ever know." At this he gently kissed the tip of her nose and grabbed her hand before leading her towards the beach. "Come on pet, I expect they'll be waiting for us."  
  
Buffy grabbed his hand and let him lead her to the beach. On the way there, he grabbed her camera and snapped a picture of her while she was walking and laughed when she smacked him on the arm, yelling about wasting pictures. By the time they got there everyone was already grabbing a canoe and they had to run to deposit their stuff and pick their respective ones out.  
  
'Ok, This isn't so Hard, Paddle one, Paddle two...'  
  
Buffy paddled hard and eventually developed a rhythm and stuck to it. That is, until Spike splashed her.  
  
"Spike!" She yelled at him, while he laughed. She angrily paddled over to him and flipped his canoe over. He came to the surface sputtering and pissed as all hell. Buffy was too busy laughing to notice the giant piece of sea kelp he was putting in her hair. "Spike what are you...AAHHHH!!!! GET IT OFF!!!!!! GET IT OFF NOW!!! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!! AHHHHHHH!!!!!!" Buffy screamed frantically as the slimy kelp slid it's way down her back, which of course only made her scream and thrash more.  
  
Finally Willow paddled over and helped her get it off and after Buffy had severly thrashed Spike with her paddle, she was happy. The councillors decided everyone had enough excitement for one day and led everyone back to the beach.  
  
TBC...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


	9. Teenage Kicks

TITLE: Cheater

AUTHOR: Me, who else? Wink

DISCLAIMER: I own none of the characters. Everything that happens in the story in real-time (not flash backs) is my made up plot; however the flashbacks are all based off of my own personal life. Yep, this is a 75 true story Kiddies. Brace yourselves ;)

CONTENT: S/B with some minor S/Dru, S/other and some minor B/Ang in the chapters to come.

TIMELINE: This is AU; therefore, there is no set timeline. However, all of the 'present' scenes are meant to take place in 2003. So just keep that in mind. There are years listed though on the flashbacks.

FEEBACK: If I could live off it I would. So come on, feed me. wink

DEDICATION: This is dedicated to anyone reading this.

SUMMARY: Buffy and Spike have known each other since Junior High, while on her way to his house she think back over the years about their rocky start and even rockier relationship.

WARNING: This is not fluffy. This is like real life and as we all know life isn't always happy. I warned you. So no flames that you want me to write something fluffier because I don't do that.

MARCH 27, 1998

Back on the beach, Buffy groaned and gasped as she struggled to align her canoe with the others. Somewhere along the way, it had decided to fill itself with water and was now about 50 times heavier than before. Sighing and giving up she turned and was met with an amused pair of ice-blue eyes.

"Aww, just when I was enjoying watching you struggle…" Spike taunted her with a grin as he easily picked her canoe up and set it in place.

Buffy crossed her arms and gave him a mock-glare. Spike laughed and grabbed her hand to lead her back to camp. Buffy fell into step beside him and laid her head on his shoulder. As they neared the camp Buffy saw Amy, Willow and Darla head into Amy's tent. Intrigued, as Willow couldn't stand Darla, she pecked Spike on the cheek and opened the tent flap.

Willow flashed a guilty look and stared at the tent floor while Amy and Darla glared at Buffy.

"Hey guys what's…" Buffy paused catching their hostile faces, "…going on? Are you guys ok? Did I interrupt something?"

Amy was the first to speak, "Actually Buffy, yes you did. We were telling stories. It'd be nice if you left."

Buffy blinked in surprise. _What in the hell is going on here?_

"Are you mad at me or something?" Buffy raised an eyebrow at Amy and noticed Willow nervously wringing her hands. "I can't think of anything I've done to piss you off Amy, if you have a problem with me I'd like to think you'd be upfront about it."

Amy sighed and gave her a look full of contempt, "Don't play innocent, you know what you did. I mean it's not fair that he picked…" She trailed off as though she'd said too much and pursed her lips. "I'd like you to please leave my tent now."

Buffy looked from Amy to Darla, to Willow and back to Amy. "Fine. Willow do you want to stay with them?" Willow looked like she was gonna cry and in a small voice said yes.

As Buffy was about to leave Darla's voice rang out, "Yea, why don't you go parade Spike around some more!"

Buffy stopped and slowly turned around; Amy was glaring at Darla and gestured for Buffy to leave. Buffy laughed and walked out, nearly running into Tara outside the tent.

"Oh! Sorry Tara I didn't see you there…" She gave Tara a thoughtful look, "Did you hear what happened?"

Tara nodded, "I don't know why they're being like that. I mean I know Darla likes Spike but other than that…"

"What!" Buffy burst out, surprised. "Darla likes Spike? How come she never said anything?"

Tara winced and shrugged, not willing to further betray her sister. Buffy slowly nodded in understanding and walked to Spike's tent. _I can't believe this; I've lost three friends in one day._ Buffy ran her fingers through her hair and ducked under the opening to Spike's tent. Spike glanced up from his sketchpad and saw the look on her face.

"Luv? Are you ok?" He put his drawing aside as she sat down and her eyes filled with tears. "What happened?" He caught a tear with his fingertip as it made it's way down her cheek.

"It's just girl stuff. Drama, you know how we are." She bitterly laughed and leaned into his touch. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and gently stroked her hair. She sighed and settled into his embrace, at once feeling safe and comforted. "I just don't understand why it all has to be so difficult. Getting older sucks." He laughed at her choice of words and tilted her chin up with his fingers.

"I can think of one thing that's not difficult sweet bit, us." He winced at how mushy he sounded, and it was her turn to laugh.

"Yea, we're pretty simple. Except for me hitting you, I'd imagine that's confusing…" She laughed as he grumbled.

"Oy, you looney chit, what's all that about? Smacking me and such…" He smiled at her to show he was teasing and slowly leaned back on the bunk, her still in his arms. She settled her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat. He cleared his throat. "Ya know I never really thought we'd be together." He glanced down at her upturned face to see if she was listening. "I mean I knew I loved you from the first time I saw you, but I never would've dreamed Princess Goldilocks felt the same." He grinned at her frown upon hearing her nickname.

"Hey for all you know I'm just using you for your body." She wiggled her eyebrows at him and he laughed.

"Yea, I can see it now, Buffy Summers, pimp mistress extraordinaire!" He laughed as she playfully socked his arm. Buffy sat up and stretched, exposing a slice of skin to him from under her shirt. He gently ran his fingers across the small of her back, giving her goosebumps and causing her to shudder. She shot him a look and leaned over to kiss him. The chaperones' voices shouted at them from the main campsite to grab a jacket and get going to the Cafeteria. Spike growled at their timing and nipped her lips before reaching over to grab his jacket. Buffy sighed and exited the tent at the same time Amy and Darla left Amy's tent, followed by Willow. They noticed her flushed face, saw Spike and proceeded to glare at her. Buffy gave them a glare in return and turned around to grab Spike. He raised his eyebrows at her as she seized a fistful of his shirt and tugged him toward her. She kissed him full on the lips and lightly ran her nails downs his neck. He shuddered and his eyes darkened before he pulled her closer to him and deepened the kiss.

Buffy could hear Amy tell the others that they should leave. And just as she was rejoicing in her triumph, her and Spike were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Buffy turned to meet the disapproving eyes of Amy's mother Catherine Madison, who was one of the Chaperones. Spike and Buffy nervously laughed and ran off in the direction of the Cafeteria. Buffy could feel Ms. Madison's eyes on her back as she and spike slowed to a walk and sorrowfully wondered if she'd just made another enemy.

Buffy and Spike joined the others in the Cafeteria and were immediately greeted with the smell of raw fish. Buffy wrinkled her nose and sat down next to Tara at one of the tables as Spike joined his friend Jesse on the other side. Buffy turned to Tara and was about to ask her what they were doing when three of the camp counselors walked out of the back room with tray upon tray of dead squid. Buffy's jaw dropped and she couldn't help but laugh when she heard Darla scream.

"Ok kids," the red-haired male counselor began, "today we're dissecting….Squid!" He grinned and clapped his hands as some students recoiled and some bounced in excitement. "Now I want you all to know that we'll be guiding you through this process and that these poor little squidies didn't die in vain. In fact, when we're done cutting them up, we're gonna fry them for dinner!"

Tara's face whitened and Buffy patted her soothingly on the back, "I'm sure you don't have to eat it, it's probably optional…" Tara weakly nodded in reply. Buffy watched the counselors pass out napkins and knives, and trays of squid. She watched the little squid wobble on his tray and she laughed. "I think I'll name him spike." Spike laughed from across the room. Buffy glanced up, thinking he heard her, but instead he wasn't looking at her at all. Amy had sat next to him and was telling him a joke while casually flirting. Buffy noticed the way her top gaped open in the front and how Spike's eyes were drawn downward, and how he flirted right back. She was taken aback by her former friend's betrayal. Spike began to look disinterested as Amy pressed her chest against his arm while she laughed. He shot Buffy a pleading look and Buffy just shrugged. _He got himself into that mess, he should get himself out._ She began to diligently cut into her Spike-squid and before she knew it, the counselors were coming around with plates to collect the pieces to be cooked. Buffy yawned and stretched before looking over at Spike. He was trapped between Darla and Amy on the bench and looked like he'd stopped paying attention to them awhile ago. He glanced around the room and his eyes landed on Buffy. She smiled and he returned her grin before swiftly getting up from the bench and walking over to her. Darla and Amy watched him walk with jealous eyes, but Buffy didn't care. Spike joined Buffy at her table and gave her a look of immense relief.

"Cor, if I had to listen to those silly bints go on about how hot accents are for five more seconds I think I might've had to shoot myself." He shook his head and Buffy laughed before kissing his cheek.

"Well Spike, they have a point, accents are mighty attractive…" She trailed off and caught his eye, "…'Course, I had to land the one brit with a tiny...ego." She nodded at his hips and his jaw dropped.

"Oh is that how it is? You saucy chit..." He grabbed her midsection and rapidly tickled her sides as she laughed. Buffy squealed and tried to get away but he held her firmly in his grasp. She was just about to yell Mercy when he playfully slapped her rear and walked back to his now empty table. She frowned at his retreating back and watched him sit down. He gazed at her from across the room and slowly licked his lips. All at once the mood shifted from playful, to something else. Buffy watched his tongue snake out and was shocked when he began to play with his tongue ring. Buffy smiled and shook her head. _I am going to **rape** that boy…_

The counselors returned from the kitchens with plates of sizzling Calamari and Buffy was surprised at how good it smelled. The students were excused to go wash their hands and Buffy rushed with Tara to the girl's bathroom. On the way out a hand grabbed her shoulder, and Buffy looked up to see Ms. Madison.

"Buffy I need to talk to you." Ms. Madison gave her a serious look and steered her back into the restroom. Buffy cringed; more drama was definitely not what she needed. "Now Buffy, I know you and Spike have a…'thing'," she said, making quotation fingers, "But that doesn't give you license to spend unwarranted amounts of time in each other's tents, and public displays of affection are not allowed." She held up a hand before Buffy could protest.

"I want you to remember that this is a School-sponsored trip, not your own personal romantic getaway. That said, I also want you to know that I'm aware of Amy's actions and am going to speak to her about it. I want everyone to enjoy this trip, but I need to make sure the rules are obeyed." She gave Buffy a small smile, "I personally think you and Spike are cute, in a sophomoric way. However I'm also aware of the trouble your little fling is causing with the other students. If you can promise me that you'll cut back on the kissing, at least in public, I'll make sure Amy and Darla play nice. Deal?" She held out her hand for Buffy to shake, and Buffy was struck with a new sense of respect for the older woman. She grasped her hand and smiled before heading back to the cafeteria. _Well that wasn't so bad… _

As she sat down next to Spike and commenced to eat her Calamari, she wondered how to get approach Willow about Darla and Amy, with them hanging around Willow like vultures. As she was just finishing her food, the counselor's announced that they had a special Eel feeding 'party' planned for them on the beach. A few students groaned in protest and the counselors relented and told them to just go ahead and hang out on the beach, but that they couldn't go swimming and they couldn't leave the area. Spike grabbed Buffy's hand as they walked out and led her to a secluded section of the beach. Amy came running after them and announced breathlessly that she needed to talk to Spike, alone. Buffy glared at Amy and gave Spike a peck on the cheek before leaving to find Willow. She glanced back at them and saw Spike's clenched jaw and the way he crossed his arms at what Amy had to say. _Well at least she isn't trying to be charming…_

Buffy saw Willow next to the Eel tank, cooing to the fish and she laughed. _Only Willow would find them cute._ She made a beeline for her and grabbed some eel food. Willow saw her and moved to make room. Buffy glanced at her guilty face and sighed. "You know Willow, I hate to see us stop being friends over something as silly as a boy…" Willow looked up at her and hope flashed across her face. "I'm so sorry Buffy! I just didn't know what to do, I mean I felt like a third wheel and Darla and Amy were so nice at first…" She trailed off and Buffy seized her in a hug. "Oh Willow, I never meant to make you feel like that, I'm sorry, it's just Spike's my first boyfriend…" Willow hugged her back and nodded that it was ok. Buffy disentangled herself from Willow's jumper and noticed she'd spilled eel food everywhere. "Come on girly, let's get outta here, these eels are creeping me out." She grabbed Willow's arm and led her out into the beach.

Buffy laughed as Willow blew goodbye kisses to the eels and noticed with mild shock that Amy and Spike were still talking. They had taken a seat on a bench where most of the other students were gathered and Spike was gesturing angrily to her. Buffy wandered over in time to hear Spike say, "…You don't think she would notice? Are you mad? She watches me like a hawk all the time!" Buffy recoiled in shock. _Is he talking about me? _Buffy hesitantly sat down next to Jesse, who took notice of her and loudly exclaimed 'Buffy!' She winced as Spike and Amy looked at her and ended the discussion. Spike gestured for Buffy to join him as Amy walked away and Buffy reluctantly got up and sat next to him.

"So…" she began, "What were you and Amy talking about?" He laughed to himself and held up his arm. "Can you believe it, she wants to try and give me a tattoo! She says her uncle has a tattoo parlor and that he'd do it for free. I told her she was crazy and that there's no way my mom wouldn't see it…" Buffy sighed in relief and the counselor's came out to tell the students to return to camp as the tide was coming in.

Spike stood up and saw Buffy shiver with the cold. "You cold Summers?" She shook her head no and stumbled a reply through blue lips. "Jesus Babe, here..." He shrugged off his sweater and held it out to her. She shook her head no. "If I wear that, then you'll be cold..." He raised his eyebrows at her and lifted her arms into the sweater. She smiled and pulled it the rest of the way, noting at once how his scent clung to it.

He looped his arm around her waist as they walked back to camp. She looked up at the stars, and thought to herself that this was another perfect moment. It seemed like every star in the sky had come out to watch her and Spike. She sighed and smiled in contentment. Spike grabbed her hand and broke her out of her daze by twirling her around in a circle while humming to himself. She laughed as he dipped her and gently kissed her eyelids. She objected when she saw all the dust and dirt they were kicking up. Spike just mock-growled at her and whispered in her ear, "Hey shut up, we're dancing." She laughed again and smacked his arm.

The rest of the way down the path had him humming and occasionally twirling her and Buffy grinned to herself at what an adorable boyfriend she had. When they got back to camp Buffy heard the squeals of amused teenagers and saw what had to be the biggest game of hide and seek she'd seen. Roughly 20 boys and girls scrambled around the camp for a hiding place, and then proceeded to run when caught. It was utter chaos, and it looked like a lot of fun. Buffy was tagged by a giggling Willow and separated herself from Spike to go count by a tree. She counted to 30 and went in search of the other students. The first person she found was Tara who she tagged to help her find the others. Pretty soon, everyone had been found, with the exception of Amy and Spike.

Buffy ignored the sinking feeling that was building in the pit of her stomach. _They're probably just off in their tents, tired of the game or something._ But a search of the tents proved useless, and pretty soon, the entire camp was going around the campsite with flashlights, trying to find them. Eventually they stumbled back into camp laughing, and when questioned on where they'd been they just said they were visiting the other camps. Buffy tried to ignore the smug look Amy gave her, and quickly stripped Spike's sweatshirt off and handed it to him. He accepted it with a cautious look. "Problems pet?"

Buffy gave him a hurt look and walked to her tent to grab her own sweater. Spike followed her in and halted her movements by guiding her to her bunk. "Buffy you know I love you." She nodded and looked away. He grabbed her chin and turned it towards him. "I would never do anything to hurt you luv. Amy's my friend and I figured it shouldn't matter if I hung out with her. Does it?" Buffy sighed and shook her head. "Babe, come on talk to me."

Buffy raised her wet lashes and he gently kissed the tip of her nose. She closed her eyes and cleared her throat. "It's just…I don't understand." Spike gave her a confused look. "Understand what luv?" She traced patterns on her sleeping bag and tried to collect her thoughts. "I don't understand why you love me. I'm not the prettiest girl you know, or the smartest, or the fittest, or funniest or anything. You're a punker and I'm practically a hippie." Spike laughed at her generalization of things. "I'm being serious! I can't figure out why you even want to be around me, and you and Amy seem to have so much in common, I guess it makes sense that you might," Spike put a finger on her lips, silencing her. "No. It doesn't make sense. I love you, and Amy is a friend. That's all. End of discussion. I would never, ever cheat on you. Ever. Alright sweet bit?" Buffy nodded in resignation and kissed his cheek. He got up and wished her a goodnight. As Buffy settled into her sleeping bag and drifted off to sleep, she couldn't shake the feeling that things weren't what they appeared. _I just hope this is the end of it…I'd hate to have to constantly question his motives. I mean he does love me, doesn't he?_

PRESENT

Buffy shook her head as Cordelia pulled out of the gas station and onto the freeway. The memory that she'd been worried about cheating because he disappeared with a female friend was almost laughable, considering what he was doing now. As Cordelia turned her music up, Buffy closed her eyes and pictured Spike before the drugs, before the girls. When they were both just kids and everything was so much simpler.

At least the next day of the trip was free of tears. They ended up having to scuba-dive and since it was the day they all went home, and consequently the last time her and Spike would see each other for a month because of Spring break, they had as much fun as they could before the day was over. Buffy grinned to herself at the image of Spike in his over-sized scuba gear and giant duck flippers…

TBC

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the first time I've picked up the pen with this story in 2 years. I'm sure the writing style has changed, hopefully for the better. Any constructive criticism you have would be a great help to me, as I'm trying to get back into the flow of writing. Thanks for reading :)


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